Settlers: New Palestinian city will harm security, the environment

The excuses given for being against the city don't seem valid, they seem like excuses, not that traffic jams and pollution aren't bad, but that they're just excuses. Still, Arabs have how much land? The Jews have how much land? The Arabs just don't belong on Jewish land, that's the real reason, to be honest.

Israel fought hard to win this land. Israeli soldiers died to conquer it. Had Israel not conquered it, it would have been used by Arabs for attacks against Israeli military and civilians. This area is still under Israeli control - that is why the Jewish settlers are there - and Israel provides the security and the legal system. In these circumstances it is utterly disgraceful that the Israeli government is allowing the construction of an ARAB settlement in this land! It is only ever going to be used against us. Moreover, there are plenty of Jews displaced by the catastrophic withdrawal from Gaza, who deserve those homes more than Arabs could.

Yes, it is OK for Palestinians (not arab) to settle and not Jews when they are settling on Palestinian land. And spare me the nonsense about Balfour; it wasn't his land to give away.

Anyone wondered why those palestinians cannot simply live in ateret ?

"The pity is that the settlers claim that Israel own all of these lands as per "G-d`s promise to Abraham and his chosen people" in the Torah (Jewish Bible)and they still dump all of this sewage on these lands. Go figure" It seems as if the settlers think their treatment of the land doesn't matter if the land is being used by Palestinians...

The settlers have made their bed, now all Israel can sleep with the one-state solution.

Palestinians have the right to live in Israel if they were there before israels creation. New palestinians are not allowed to move into Israel and you know this. This is a fact. Us Israelis try to play these brain games but lets get real. Life is not a court room. We do not have the right to live in the west bank and gaza.

I am Jewish and this is none of our business. We should not be in the West Bank at all. If we were not in the west bank and not in Gaza then we would not have these problems. It is all a lie and us Jewish people must open our eyes. In order to have a peaceful Isreal where jews can live in peace we must leave gaza and the west bank.

Gaza? Israeli leaders never learn and don't seem to be able to come to a knowledge of the truth !

of course not,.. palitenians and muslims have no issues with Jews/Zionists living in "israel Proper"

If they're so worried about sewage treatment, Abas should build the sewage treatment plant right next to "their" setelment so that they can see it in operation! Ha ha ha.

If we have more projects like this one, we can settle most palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, instead of living in sub-human conditions in refugees there.

Silvienne you posted: "...It`s a pity the settlers don`t think of that when they dump their sewage on Palestinian land..." The pity is that the settlers claim that Israel own all of these lands as per "G-d's promise to Abraham and his chosen people" in the Torah (Jewish Bible)and they still dump all of this sewage on these lands. Go figure. If I was G-d, I would punish those who pollute and kill the lands I promised them, but wait, this promis was never made and can never be proven. Just a big Zionist propagnada and brainwashing.

You posted: "Will somebody please tell the settler/thugs and the government that has supported them to GET LOST !" I agree with you 1000%, but also tell the governments that support Israel, mainly the USA, to also stop supporting the criminal Israeli government and also to GET LOST!

Renata, you posted: "palestinians/muslims are allowed to live in Israel, so it`s only fair that Jewish settlers build their house on so called palestinian land, what belongs to Israel by the way..." First of all the lands that you refer to as "so called palestinian land", is regarded even by government and citizens of Israel as Palestinian lands. I am sure you are very familiar with the term "Ha'Shtaheem Ha'Kvoosheem", Hebrew for occupied territories. "...Israel if palestinians/muslims are so peaceful then they should not have any issues with Jews living there, isn`t it right?" I am sure if the situation was reversed, you and the rest of your settler friends would be complaining. Need I remind you of our previous history that you seem to have forgotten? Menachem Begin and his terrorist groups did the same to the British when they ruled in Palestine. You need to stop and re-educate yourself regarding the history of this region before you accuse others and complain.

The difference is that Palis lived in Israel before there was an Israel. These settlers are not from the places they have settled in. Now tell me, are 500,000 Palis from the West Bank or Gaza allowed to build settlements inside Israel? The absurdity of the zionist mind never stops to amaze me.

Please reread the article. It is the settlers whom are having issues with the Pals, not the other way around. And NO, it's not Israeli land. No one agrees to this.

"The environment is suffering, and this is a much more important and underscored issue" It's a pity the settlers don't think of that when they dump their sewage on Palestinian land...

"so its ok for arabs to settle but not jews ? its time you went out and got a new brain" It is Palestinian land, so it is not all right for Jews to settle, although they are...illegally.

No new city is needed neither this side nor the other side of the Green Line or Fence or whatever. Also no more routes. And more than everything, no more "citizen's of the world" who keep telling us, Israelis and Palestinians, what is correct and what not. The environment is suffering, and this is a much more important and underscored issue

palestinians/muslims are allowed to live in Israel, so it's only fair that Jewish settlers build their house on so called palestinian land, what belongs to Israel by the way. if palestinians/muslims are so peaceful then they should not have any issues with Jews living there, isn't it right?

The mighty and resilient Falistini people and the mighty nation of Falusteen will rise once more. Keep those bulldozers running day and night...

Will somebody please tell the settler/thugs and the government that has supported them to GET LOST !

Thanks for pointing out the sewage from the Israeli colonies polluting Palestinian land. I have come across this problem everywhere where I helped during the Palestinian olive harvest. The Jewish colonies, usually built on top of the hills and often without proper sewage facilities, simply and indeed with intent let their raw sewage run down hill into Palestinian orchards and villages. I have come across a huge hill in the Westbank, which consists entirely of garbage/detritus from within the Green Line and the colonies in the Occupied Westbank. And last but not least there is the separation wall. It has caused untold environmental destruction. It is a giant ragged laceration running over the Palestinian landscape for hundreds of kilometres. Although it is important for Palestinians to increase their environmental awareness, by far the biggest polluter in Palestine is the occupier, i.e. Israel and its colonists.

It is funny that the settlers are using the same accusations that people all over the world accuse Israel of when building in mighty mighty Palestine.

"As of December 2009 the average monthly wage for a palestinian living in Judea & Samaria was around 2015 shekels a month ( around $16,000 a year before tax )." That is actually quite afordable given the average income. "The new apartments are expected to sell for between $38,000 to $75,000 per unit," In Israel the average house price is $211,036 whilst the average income is around $28,000 So it is actually more easier for an average palestinian to purchace property in this development than it is for the average Israeli to purchace proprty in Israel. Unless ofcourse you count the governments subsidies and cheap houseing built in the occupied territories at another people expense. The palestinian government has no occupied territory so no need to fund settlers as a means of colonising another land.

I think the settler response is excelent. Whilst many have the knee jerk reaction to tell the settlers go back to israel or what not, but look a little deeper. Although there is so much between the settlers and and the locals this could offer a good chance for responsible dialoge. Not just regarding this construction but all construction in the west bank, about seriously living as neighbours. This is an oppourtunity for building bridges, it may not go anywhere but its worth a shot.

the settlers only want to see the palestinians working in construction in Jewish settlements I suppose? The construction of this town should please everybody, both Israeli's and Palestinians. It's a positive event in a region plagued by troubles.

Your concern about Palestinian elites overwhelming the road/highway built exclusively for settler elites strikes me as particularly tragic. Again, dear Motti, my heart bleeds for you.

Ha, you're brilliant Esther :)

Then you wont have that worry!

What do the palestinians need a new city from scratch for? They have plenty of cities that could be expanded or modernized for a fraction of the price. As of December 2009 the average monthly wage for a palestinian living in Judea & Samaria was around 2015 shekels a month ( around $16,000 a year before tax ). There are also thousands who live well bellow that and close to the poverty line. If this was being done for the good of the people the most logical thing to have done was forgot glamour and instead develop the existing towns and cities .. provide fancy new homes for the rich but you can also build for the ordinary people and redevelop whole areas for the money that would have to be invested to build a city from scratch. Also why has the JNF donated thousands of trees to this city paid for by jewish donors who thought their money was going to be spent developing Israel not glamerous new arab cities. This city is going to be a symbol of corruption

Now, a US company will handle the waste. Something the settlers have not bothered to do, since they just dump their rubbish into the wadi. Now, the 20.000 odd motor vehicles.? I doubt that so many will be on the road, since only 25.000 people will live in this new Palestinian City, that is unless 3 year old kids will be driving. As far as the settlers go, with their hype and paranoia, forget it, for a Palestinian State will come to birth, sooner or later. So, the tide may rise and recede, yet slowly the beach sand returns to the sea. Get my drift Mr & Mrs. Settler.? Shalom.

Sorry, the posters here on this site claming the settlers are dum are very wrong. The settlers have showed beyond any doubt that they are learning by experience. The manner the Nazi treated other people wich they considered as sub human are excatly the same way the settlers treat the pals today.

From Ramallah to Toronto: Thank you very much

but this one takes you to a whole new low...or should i say high?... considering it's coming from way out in the ozone somewhere.

... "ain-davar, don't cry dearies, I will build you an ever bigger and better one"...

The problem with settlers is that they're not settling in Israel but on Palestinian land, which postpones any possibility of peace, monopolizes youngsters serving in the army - who are often insulted by the very settlers they've been sent to protect - and costs Israeli taxpayers tons of money each year.

Someone on TV should give the settler guys a show, they're hilarious.

If this new Palestinian city is such a problem for settlers, they can move back to Israeli towns anytime.

That's totally weird. Do they also want to express their advice on environment and urbanization in the USA?

Suddenly the shoe is on the other foot and the settlers now develop a sense of NIMBY. Maybe they should of thought of this when building on someone elses land. If i was the PA authority then i would have built a landfill site next to the worst settlements.

eric , have you ever tried to think before posting ? so its ok for arabs to settle but not jews ? its time you went out and got a new brain

The settlers are getting settled on and they don't like the experience any more than the Pals they settled on! They're raising exactly the same concerns the Pals would have raised. My fear is that while the Pals' complaints were totally ignored, Bibi's extremist government will once again give in to the settlers and stop the indigenous Pals building their own town. We shall see.

... the settlers are pure and simple the enemy-of-the-Pals, and inadvertently the enemies of Israel... ... whether the Pals are peaceful or belligerent is of no consequece to the settlers... ... the settlers see themselves as herren-volk, the only ones free to breath the air of Israel-Palestine... ... settlers cannot abide viewing through their windows Pals engaged in buidling their civilian lives, even on their own undisputed land...

"We're in a construction freeze and the Arabs are building," says MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi. Does this guy have any brain cells?

but...fuggem damn arrogant settlers! they need to pack up and leave the west bank anyway! i just hope their whining chorus doesn't bring bibi's bunch running to their rescue with some sort of way to stop this from going forward.

it is after all not your land and you certainly have no right to complain about your neighbors whose land it really is....but then you have to pay rent...oh well join the real world...nothing is free except US welfare to the zio state and its running out

This is a joke or the epitome of hypocrisy. But then again, the settlement enterprise and the settler movement is a distortion of democracy, an ongoing criminal enterprise and an obstacle to any sort of normal civilian Palestinian life... Simply put, settlers, at the very least, sheket!

The arrogance of these settlers is astounding

The irony here is just painful. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. The settlers can at least be thankful that they weren't evicted from their homes to make way for the new construction. That honor is reserved only for Palestinians.

Not "settlers" but illegal residents.New cities must emerge from Palestinians to wipe out growing Jewish settlement which is completely against international laws by the Israel, whose legitimacy is under doubt.

look who's talking of being afraid of pollution and sewage. I have seen scores of settlements polluting the land of Palestine. I have seen their garbage dumped over Palestinian farm lands. I have seen their raw sewage oozing down on Palestinian villages with intention and spite. Those anti human settlers of ateret need to talk to their God to find a way out. Go back to New York. Palestinians are here to stay.

If they don't want to live near a Palestinian suburb, they could move to Israel. I'd just bet there are Palestinian villagers who don't like cities built on their farmland, ruining their view.

Good on Qatar for building homes for Palestinians. The Israelis keep screaming about how the other Arab states are at fault for keeping the refugees in poverty and misery, but when Qatar actually extends material assistance, Israeli settlers start whining that the building will somehow inconvenience them. Firstly, that is not Israeli land, if they are so concerned about pollution, sanitation, attacks, etc., then they should all go back from whence they came. Like Brooklyn.

Setttlers, Solve the problem for us all, move back to Israel !!

Oh i see all of a sudden they are concerned about trafic and polution ? Really !

If Israel intends to occupy Pal territory indefinitely, Israel must make provisions for the increasing Arab population. Anything less is unacceptable. Get real people- it's time to move ahead and behave like a real state.

The settlers are concerned about impact on the environment? The settlers themselves are an environmental hazard.

Israelis use 75% of the water, they used up the waste sites, the colonists have a lot of gall even to say a word. It's not their land, it's none of their business. The world looks in from outside and sees this as Israel. No PR campaign will ever wipe away these daily stains that Israel inflicts upon itself.

If the Israeli settlers do not like it, they can move back to where them came from, Russia, Brooklyn, South America. The settlers were never invited by the Palestinians and have no legal rights to land they took in Palestine. In many areas, Israeli settlements dump sewage down into Palestinian areas. It is good that another Arab state is helping Palestine. It is possible for Palestine to be a viable state as long as the settlers do not instigate violence.

are the palestinians able to voice any concern over construction inside Israel Proper?

build on their land. It's nice to here Arab states are increasing investment in Palestine, I hope the trend continues.

If the Settlers are so concerned about pollution and traffic, then maybe they should go back to their homes in Israel where they belong.

I don't see how it could be a terrible idea. A new city with modern and definate plans will make logistics and security easier, as opposed tol the vastly disorganized palestinian population centers that arose from refugee camps. Maybe palestinians seeing progress is an inroad to peace?